Bath City Farm Café
Hetreed Ross Architects won a competition to design Bath City Farm’s new café in 2017 and in summer 2022 celebrated its completion and opening to the public. Longlisted for the RIBA MacEwan Awards celebrating architecture for the common good.
Bath City Farm café
Hetreed Ross Architects won the competition to design Bath City Farm’s new café in 2017 and in summer 2022 celebrated its completion and opening to the public.
Read More
Hetreed Ross Architects won the competition to design Bath City Farm’s new café in 2017 and in summer 2022 celebrated its completion and opening to the public. Established in 1990, Bath City Farm had grown to welcoming over 40,000 visitors (pre Covid) and outgrown its current café facilities. The farm provides education, training, therapeutic activities, venue hire and events for the local Bath community to encourage participation and well-being. The brief for the new farm café included seating for 40 visitors, an open plan service area, kitchens, storage and toilets in addition to external terraces and seating.
Hetreed Ross Architects studied the site both from afar to assess the impact that the new building would have on the views towards the Farm from Bath, and also from within the Farm itself to arrive at the most suitable location. As a result, it was decided to locate the café on level ground between the training building and playground. This has the advantage of being directly in sight of the car park, enabling relatively flat access for wheelchairs and buggies, avoiding the need for altered ground levels or retaining walls. This area also offered space for two generous, sunny terraces to take in the beautiful views over Bath.
The design Hetreed Ross Architects proposed for the café took influence from its agricultural setting using traditional forms and materials but reimagining them to create a contemporary space. The simple shallow mono-pitch roof sits on timber clad walls which will be allowed to weather naturally. An open pergola across the front elevation of the café will be built by the farm to give layering and shelter with the opportunity for plant growth. Sustainability of the build was important to the client, with a view to minimising long-term running costs. The building is very well insulated, built to good airtightness standards and with renewable energy provided by an air source heat pump. Rainwater from the roof is stored in a large underground tank for irrigation of crops. Simple triple glazed openings give views across the farm, playground and beyond.
Space around the café will allow for outdoor Bath community events to continue and to benefit from the proximity of the café; borders are planted with edible produce for use in the café, fruit trees are set on the banks with wild flower planting encouraging biodiversity. It is truly an idyllic setting, with the new building already settling into the landscape.
Main contractor: Ken Biggs Contractors Ltd
QS: Ken Jenn
Services Engineer: BJP Consulting Group Ltd
Bath City Farm Fundraising
Our clients and friends at Bath City Farm have launched a fundraising appeal, check out their film here, raising awareness of the important work they do in our community.
Hetreed Ross Architects won the competition to design Bath City Farm’s new café in 2017 and in summer 2022 celebrated its completion and opening to the public. Established in 1990, Bath City Farm had grown to welcoming over 40,000 visitors (pre Covid) and outgrown its current café facilities. The farm provides education, training, therapeutic activities, venue hire and events for the local Bath community to encourage participation and well-being. The brief for the new farm café included seating for 40 visitors, an open plan service area, kitchens, storage and toilets in addition to external terraces and seating.
Hetreed Ross Architects studied the site both from afar to assess the impact that the new building would have on the views towards the Farm from Bath, and also from within the Farm itself to arrive at the most suitable location. As a result, it was decided to locate the café on level ground between the training building and playground. This has the advantage of being directly in sight of the car park, enabling relatively flat access for wheelchairs and buggies, avoiding the need for altered ground levels or retaining walls. This area also offered space for two generous, sunny terraces to take in the beautiful views over Bath.
The design Hetreed Ross Architects proposed for the café took influence from its agricultural setting using traditional forms and materials but reimagining them to create a contemporary space. The simple shallow mono-pitch roof sits on timber clad walls which will be allowed to weather naturally. An open pergola across the front elevation of the café will be built by the farm to give layering and shelter with the opportunity for plant growth. Sustainability of the build was important to the client, with a view to minimising long-term running costs. The building is very well insulated, built to good airtightness standards and with renewable energy provided by an air source heat pump. Rainwater from the roof is stored in a large underground tank for irrigation of crops. Simple triple glazed openings give views across the farm, playground and beyond.
Space around the café will allow for outdoor Bath community events to continue and to benefit from the proximity of the café; borders are planted with edible produce for use in the café, fruit trees are set on the banks with wild flower planting encouraging biodiversity. It is truly an idyllic setting, with the new building already settling into the landscape.
Structural Engineer: E&M West Ltd
QS: Ken Jenn
Services Engineer: BJP Consulting Group Ltd
Main contractor: Ken Biggs Contractors Ltd
Testimonial
Bath City Farm worked with Hetreed Ross Architects – Ann Ross, and then Amanda Henderson – over a five-year period allowing us to achieve planning permission, raise funds for the cafe, manage delays due to Covid, go to tender, raise more funds…….and deliver a successful and delightful building. In our brief to HRA we said we wanted a modern, spacious, flexible, light, welcoming cafe space that made the best of the stunning views – and that’s exactly what we got. HRA were at the centre of the team (including the wider professional team and our contractor Ken Biggs Contractors Ltd) that helped us to deliver the project successfully. Despite our tight budget we were able to include several energy-saving and low-carbon solutions. The new building is sensitively designed and is proving to be a hugely popular venue for the community. We would not hesitate to recommend HRA, who brought skill, care and creativity to the entire process.
Malcolm Dodds, Bath City Farm Trustee
Hetreed Ross Architects are RIBA Chartered Architects and Environmental Designers, for Bath, Bristol, Somerset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Dorset and the South West. AECB, EASA and Green Register members. Registered office: Hetreed Ross Architects, Attika Workspace, Bath Brewery, Toll Bridge Road, Bath, BA1 7DE.